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Pink pampas grass (Cortaderia selloana 'Rosea') blooms in late summer, its feathery, pink plumes add color and texture to your garden with an appearance reminiscent of a Seussian landscape. Hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 8 through 10, pink pampas grows in a clumping habit up to 10 feet tall and wide. Though this grass enhances your garden space, it can prove highly invasive, so you must be able to dedicate the time and effort to control its spread. It takes two to three years after sowing seeds until plants produce pink plumes.

Pour an even mixture of moistened peat moss and light sand into a 4-inch diameter planting container. Pink pampas grass seeds require loose, well-drained, moist soil for germination. Plant the seeds indoors four to six weeks before the last killing frost in spring. Keep the plants indoors during the first winter to protect young plants from frost if seeds are planted later than spring.

Place five evenly spaced pink pampas grass seeds on the soil surface in the planter. Lightly press the seeds into the soil; do not cover them with potting mix.

Water the soil until moist to the touch but not soaking wet. Add water slowly so the seeds don't wash away.

Cover the planters with a clear plastic food storage bag. Place the open end of the bag over the planter to allow air circulation and control soil temperature and moisture. Alternatively, you can push straws into the soil around the perimeter of the planter and use them to support clear plastic wrap.

Place the planter in sunny window that receives six to eight hours of direct or filtered sunlight daily. The room temperature should be between 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit for best germination success. You can place the planters on a seed germination mat, on top of a radiator or near a vent to provide additional heat in cooler rooms.

Mist the seeds daily to maintain an even level of moisture in the soil required for seed germination. Keep the soil moist to the touch but not wet. Excessive moisture can rot seeds and seedlings.

Allow one to two weeks for the pink pampas seeds to germinate and reveal seedlings. If each of the five seeds germinates, leave all the plants in place to grow as a single bunch.

Transplant the pink pampas grass outdoors when plants reach a height of 3 to 4 inches. Plant the grass in holes twice the diameter of the original container, or 8 inches in diameter, and the same height as the pots. Space each plant 8 feet apart to allow the pink pampas to reach maturity. Select a site with full to partial sunlight.

Spread a 2- to 3-inch layer of shredded bark mulch around the pampas grass clumps to aid in moisture retention and help prevent weeds. Do not push the mulch directly against the stems.

Water the plants regularly to keep the soil moist for the first growing season. As plants mature, they should require irrigation only once weekly (more often during hot, dry months).

Fertilize the pampas grass plants with a complete fertilizer, such as 10-10-10, four times a year at a rate of 2 pounds of actual nitrogen per 100 square feet. Broadcast the granular fertilizer evenly around the plants; do not put the fertilizer directly against the plant material. Always water thoroughly after fertilizing to protect the plant's tender roots from the fertilizer salts.

Things You Will Need

Peat moss

Sand

4-inch planting container

Clear plastic food storage bag

Straws (optional)

Clear plastic wrap (optional)

Digging tools

Shredded bark mulch

10-10-10 granular fertilizer

Tip

Pampas grass is included on many invasive plant species lists because it produces and self-sows large numbers of seeds with a high germination success rate. Left unchecked, plants can crowd out native species. Methods to control your pampas grass include pulling up seedlings manually, removing the flower plumes before the plant goes to seed and removing developing seeds before they drop. Pink pampas grass provides winter texture, so you might prefer to remove the seed sheath rather than cut off the plumes.

About the Author

A former cake decorator and competitive horticulturist, Amelia Allonsy is most at home in the kitchen or with her hands in the dirt. She received her Bachelor's degree from West Virginia University. Her work has been published in the San Francisco Chronicle and on other websites.